'Hello, world' is pretty cliche by now, and we aren't really planning on the world at large reading this, our first family blog--otherwise, we might need to up our hosting plan. Either way, welcome.

Life Less Normal is just a place for our lives to crash-land into something that can be typed out, uploaded, and shared with our family and friends. It's not a place we're going to do anything more than write about our lives, the three of us Carrolls: Jonathan, Jenni and Noah. We aren't going to be selling t-shirts (although that might be cool) or pushing our political views (we're for trees and against the war) or giving advice on parenting (bribing is a great idea) or pretending to be something we're not (because we're not)...we're just going to share some pictures and stories and nothings that in the end amount to a large pile of something (our lives), and hopefully will give you, dear friend/family member, a better picture of what's going on in our lives, even if we haven't called or e-mailed lately, and will convey the ups and the downs, the freaky and the fun that is us trying to live life less normal...

Posted by Jonathan + Jenni on 27 July, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

More photos of the new place! Okay they're actually old photos of the new place, but we have been getting a lot of comments and questions about the history of the building, and thought a couple more pics would be fun.

You can see the lower sign for Texas Electric Service Co. in this picture. Our unit is visible in this shot from 1955, being on the left corner, six stories up, just above the strip of stone work, on the corner. Also, if you compare this picture with the 1930 picture in the previous post, you'll notice that originally, the Hollywood was one of the famed RKO theaters, but that by 1955, the "RKO" had been removed from the signage:

If you zoom in a bit, you can read the marquee from the Hollywood Theater. What picture was showing on that date in 1955?

Love Me or Leave Me, starring James Cagne and Doris Day.

...leaving the era of the silver screen, back to today...

Okay, this is the view from the end of the hallway on the 16th floor. I work in the right-most tower, Just 4 blocks north.

Posted by Jonathan on 27 July, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

It not only is an exciting part of our immediate future, the building is also an integral part of Fort Worth's storied past. Its name is "The Historic Electric Building," having been added to the national registry of historic buildings in 1995. One part of the building (the 18-story section) was the Texas Electric Service Co., and the side section of the building (the 6-story part) was the art deco Hollywood Theater of the 1930's. You can see the signs for both in the photo below:

...a few things we're looking forward to about being downtown:

1. Being able to walk to and from work--I work on Third and this apartment is on 7th...do the math.


2. See 1.


3. See 2.


4. See 3.


5. See 4.


6. ...reasons 1-5 mean I get to spend a lot more time at home, including lunch every day with Jenni and Noah, which is invaluable...


7. It's like preparation, a grand experiment, for our next move.


8. We loathe being in a house.


9. I hate doing yardwork.


10. My doctor hates me doing yardwork.


11. Our unit is an open concept floor plan, which we adore.


12. Our building doesn't allow pets, so no stoopid dogs barking at 5:30 a.m.


13. We'll be quite a bit closer to some dear friends...


14. Three words: Fort Worth Flyers.

So goodbye, dear suburbia. Don't let the door smack your butt on the way out. You will not be missed.

Posted by Jonathan on 26 July, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1)

We didn't plan for the "Welcome to our blog" email to coincide with Mary's birthday, but since it did, i think it's appropriate for our oh-so-technologically-savvy family to have the first ever online warm fuzzy! To keep things interesting, this is going to be a slightly structured warm fuzzy. Share your earliest memory of meeting Mary and something you liked about her immediately. This should be really interesting for her kids.= ) i'll go first:

Sadly, i don't remember the very very first time i ever met Mary. i do however remember the settings in which i first got to know her: college class devotionals and get-togethers at the Carroll house. And the thing that i remember liking about Mary, is her loving hospitality to a bunch of kids overunning her house on a sunday night. There was always something fun to munch, and you never got the feeling that she was just waiting for us to all leave so she could put her house back in order and get some sleep. Thanks for making me feel welcome in your home, and later, your family. Happy Birthday. I love you.

jenni= )

Posted by Jenni on 26 July, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Family pictures, from various activities...they are fed from our family Flickr account and will change if you refresh this page...

Life Less Normal's Family photoset

Posted by Jonathan + Jenni on 1 July, 2006 | Permalink